Froch vs Kessler on April 24

HERNING (Feb. 12, 2010) —Team Sauerland and Hennessy Sports are proud to announce that the Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament group stage 2 fight between WBC Super Middleweight Champion Carl Froch and the Viking Warrior Mikkel Kessler will take place at the MCH Messecentre, Herning in Denmark on the 24th April 2010. The fight will be televised in the United States on SHOWTIME® beginning at 9 p.m. ET/PT. In Denmark, the fight will be broadcast on Viasat. Hennessy Sports will be announcing the UK TV broadcaster over the next week.

The two superstars lock horns in the second round of this unprecedented boxing tournament, with Kessler eager to make up for his opening loss against Andre Ward. The WBC Champ Carl Froch comes off a split decision victory over Andre Dirrell. “With the support of my great Danish fans, I will defeat Carl Froch and become world champion again,” Kessler said. “The atmosphere at MCH Herning is incredible. I only have the best of memories of the venue. The TKO victory over Perdomo last September confirmed my place in the Super Six. After a bad start, I am now out for a knock-out and the first three points..”

Froch is concerned that the date change will affect his travelling fans. “I am upset for my fans with the change of date but this has been unpreventable due to scheduling issues. I just hope that my fans will understand this change and will still come in their thousands to support me in Herning.

The WBC champion is convinced he will defend his title in spectacular fashion. “I am looking to be the first fighter to take Mikkel Kessler out before the final bell. I have gone to Jermain Taylor´s backyard and defended my belt and I am more than happy to do the same with Kessler. As the Champion I will prove that I can fight and beat the best anywhere.”

In September 2009, Kessler defended his WBA Title with a fourth-round stoppage of mandatory challenger Gusymr Perdomo. A sell-out crowd of 6,250 fans raised the roof to support Denmark´s national hero. 90 percent of the tickets were gone within three hours after the start of the sale. Kalle Sauerland expects tickets to sell even faster this time out. “I know that the Danish fight fans will rally behind Mikkel and support him in the most important fight of his life,” Sauerland said. “His career is on the line. But with 10,000 fans behind him – the MCH will provide a bigger arena this time out – I will be expecting Mikkel to collect 3 points and the WBC belt from Froch.

Mick Hennessy Said “This is a great fight, we all know styles make fights and this has the potential to be very explosive and the fight of the year. Carl Froch is the best Super Middleweight on the planet and he will prove that once again in this fight. I would just like to assure the British fans that me and Carl have been working hard with Team Sauerland behind the scenes to finalise all issues before we could make this formal announcement, so as to not mislead anyone.”

Georg Soerensen, CEO of MCH Herning, is already looking forward to the fight. “We are pleased to stage one of the biggest fights in Danish history,” he said. “Mikkel´s fight against Perdomo was a great event but this fight will be even bigger because there is so much at stake. We are anticipating a sensational night of boxing.”

UK Ticket and Travel package details will be announced in the coming week.

SUPER SIX WORLD BOXING CLASSIC SCOREBOARD

Record Fighter Points

1-0 Arthur Abraham 3

1-0 Carl Froch 2

1-0 Andre Ward 2

0-1 Andre Dirrell 0

0-1 Mikkel Kessler 0

For information on all SHOWTIME Sports telecasts, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries from its events and complete information on the Super Six World Boxing Classic, please visit the website at http://www.sports.sho.com